Resisted Motion: how far, how long until truck stops?

f1player

Junior Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2005
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A truck travelling at 60 km/h on a straight level road shuts off its engine and coasts to a stop. If the frictional forces are 2N per kg of mass and the air resistance is v/3 N per kg mass, how far and how long is it until the truck stops?

Net Force = ma = -(2m + vm/3)

a = -(2 + v/3)

a = -((6+v)/3) = dv/dt

dt/dv = -(3/(6+v))

t = -3ln(6+v) + c

At t = 0, v = 16.6666 m/s

So c = 9.36

t = -3ln(6+v) + 9.36

Let v = 0 to find t

So t = 3.98 seconds

Rearranging this:

t - 9.36 = -3ln(6+v)

(t - 9.36)/-3 = ln(6+v)

6+v = e^((t - 9.36)/-3)

So v = e^((t - 9.36)/-3) - 6

Integrating this from 0 to 3.98 gives 26.03m as the distance until it stops

Is my working right?? It just seems to me that the truck slows down way too fast
 
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